Palynology
Palynology is the study of microorganisms and microscopic fragments of mega-organisms that are composed of acid-resistant organic material and occur in
It is the science that studies contemporary and fossil
Palynology is an interdisciplinary science that stands at the intersection of
Palynology is quite useful in disciplines such as
Palynomorphs
Palynomorphs are broadly defined as the study of organic remains, including
Palynomorphs form a
Typical palynomorphs include
Palynofacies
A palynofacies is the complete assemblage of
Palynofacies can be used in two ways:
- strew mounts on microscope slides that may be examined using a transmitted light biological microscope or ultraviolet(UV) fluorescence microscope. The abundance, composition and preservation of the various components, together with the thermal alteration of the organic matter is considered.
- Palynomorph palynofacies considers the abundance, composition and diversity of palynomorphs in a sieved palynological preparation of sediments or palynological preparation of spores) can be used to derive a terrestrial input index in marine sediments.
History
Early history
The earliest reported observations of pollen under a microscope are likely to have been in the 1640s by the English
By the late 1870s, as optical microscopes improved and the principles of
1890s to 1940s
Quantitative analysis of pollen began with
Earlier pollen researchers include Früh (1885),
1940s to 1989
The term palynology was introduced by Hyde and Williams in 1944, following correspondence with the Swedish geologist Ernst Antevs, in the pages of the Pollen Analysis Circular (one of the first journals devoted to pollen analysis, produced by Paul Sears in North America). Hyde and Williams chose palynology on the basis of the Greek words paluno meaning 'to sprinkle' and pale meaning 'dust' (and thus similar to the Latin word pollen).[19]
Pollen analysis in North America stemmed from Phyllis Draper, an MS student under Sears at the University of Oklahoma. During her time as a student, she developed the first pollen diagram from a sample that depicted the percentage of several species at different depths at Curtis Bog. This was the introduction of pollen analysis in North America;[20] pollen diagrams today still often remain in the same format with depth on the y-axis and abundances of species on the x-axis.
1990s to the 21st century
Pollen analysis advanced rapidly in this period due to advances in optics and computers. Much of the science was revised by Johannes Iversen and Knut Fægri in their textbook on the subject.[21]
Methods of studying palynomorphs
Chemical preparation
Chemical digestion follows a number of steps.
Some steps of the chemical treatments require special care for safety reasons, in particular the use of HF which diffuses very fast through the skin and, causes severe chemical burns, and can be fatal.[25]
Another treatment includes kerosene flotation for chitinous materials.
Analysis
Once samples have been prepared chemically, they are mounted on microscope slides using silicon oil, glycerol or glycerol-jelly and examined using light microscopy or mounted on a stub for scanning electron microscopy.
Researchers will often study either modern samples from a number of unique sites within a given area, or samples from a single site with a record through time, such as samples obtained from peat or lake sediments. More recent studies have used the modern analog technique in which paleo-samples are compared to modern samples for which the parent vegetation is known.[26]
When the slides are observed under a microscope, the researcher counts the number of grains of each pollen taxon. This record is next used to produce a
Applications
Palynology can be applied to problems in many scientific disciplines including
- Biostratigraphy and geochronology. Geologists use palynological studies in biostratigraphy to correlate strata and determine the relative age of a given bed, horizon, formation or stratigraphical sequence.
Because the distribution of
- thousands or millions of yearsago, a fundamental part of research into climate change.
- Organic sedimentary rocks.
- palaeotemperatures.
- green algae) can be used to study past lake levels and long term climate change.
- Taxonomy and evolutionary studies. Involving the use of pollen morphological characters as source of taxonomic data to delimit plant species under same family or genus. Pollen apertural status is frequently used for differential sorting or finding similarities between species of the same taxa. This is also called Palynotaxonomy.
- Forensic palynology: the study of pollen and other palynomorphs for evidence at a crime scene.
- hay fever.
- Melissopalynology: the study of pollen and spores found in honey.
- Archaeological palynology examines human uses of plants in the past. This can help determine seasonality of site occupation, presence or absence of agricultural practices or products, and 'plant-related activity areas' within an archaeological context. Bonfire Shelteris one such example of this application.
See also
- Aperture (botany) – Areas on the walls of a pollen grain, where the wall is thinner and/or softer
- Aeroplankton – Tiny lifeforms floating and drifting in the air, carried by the wind
References
- JSTOR 2396358.
- ISBN 0-922152-76-4
- ^ a b c d Williams, G., Fensome, R.A., Miller, M. and Bujak, J., 2020. Microfossils: palynology. In Sorkhabi, R., ed., 15 pp., Encyclopedia of Petroleum Geoscience. Geneva, Switzerland, Springer Nature. 1000 pp.
- ^ a b c d Kneller, M., and Fowell, F., 2009. Palynology. In Gornitz, V., ed., pp. 766-768., Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments. Geneva, Switzerland, Springer Dordrecht. 1049 pp.
- ^ Laurence, A.R., and Bryant, V.M., 2009. Forensic Palynology. In Bruinsma, G., and Weisburd, D., ed., pp. 1471-1754., Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. New York, New York, Springer Science+Business Media. 5632 pp.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4020-5609-3
- .
- .
- .
- ^ Bradbury, S. (1967). The Evolution of the Microscope. New York: Pergamon Press. pp. 375 p.
- ^ Jansonius, J.; D.C. McGregor (1996). "Introduction, Palynology: Principles and Applications". AASP Foundation. 1: 1–10. Archived from the original on 2007-07-09.
- ^ Traverse, Alfred and Sullivan, Herbert J. "The Background, Origin, and Early History of the American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists" Palynology 7: 7-18 (1983)
- ^ Blackwell Scientific Publications. Archived from the originalon 2010-04-03.
- ^ a b Faegri, Knut (1973). "In memoriam O. Gunnar E. Erdtman". Pollen et Spores. 15: 5–12.
- ^ von Post, L (1918) "Skogsträdpollen i sydsvenska torvmosslagerföljder", Forhandlinger ved de Skandinaviske naturforskeres 16. møte i Kristiania 1916: p. 433
- ^ Früh, J (1885) "Kritische Beiträge zur Kenntnis des Torfes", Jahrb.k.k.Geol.Reichsanstalt 35
- ^ Trybom, F (1888) "Bottenprof fran svenska insjöar", Geol.Foren.Forhandl.10
- ^ Sarauw, G. F. L. (1897). "Cromer-skovlaget i Frihavnen og trælevningerne i de ravførende sandlag ved København" [The Cromer Forest layer in the Free Harbour and Wood Remains in the Amber containing strata near Copenhagen] (PDF). Meddelelser Fra Dansk Geologisk Forening / Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark (in Danish). 1 (4): 17–44.
- ^ Hyde, H.A.; D.A. Williams (1944). "The Right Word". Pollen Analysis Circular. 8: 6. Archived from the original on 2007-06-18.
- ^ Draper, Phyllis. "A DEMONSTRATION OF THE TECHNIQUE OF POLLEN ANALYSIS".
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(help) - ^ Fægri, K. & Iversen, J. (1989) Textbook of pollen analysis. 4th ed. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester. 328 p.
- ^ Bennett, K.D.; Willis, K.J. (2001). "Pollen". In Smol, John P.; Birks, H. John B.; Last, William M. (eds.). Tracking Environmental Change Using Lake Sediments. Volume 3: Terrestrial, algal, and siliceous indicators. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 5–32.
- .
- ^ Erdtman, O.G.E. "Uber die Verwendung von Essigsaureanhydrid bei Pollenuntersuchungen". Sven. Bot. Tidskr. 28: 354–358.
- ^ "Hydrofluoric acid fatality in Perth - hazard alert". 1995-03-06. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
- S2CID 129797797.
- ^
Niklasson, Mats; Matts Lindbladh; Leif Björkman (2002). "A long-term record of Quercus decline, logging and fires in a southern Swedish Fagus-Picea forest". Journal of Vegetation Science. 13 (6): 765–774. S2CID 84934798.
- ^
Hebda, R.J.; R.W. Mathewes (1984). "Holocene history of cedar and native cultures on the North American Pacific Coast". Science. 225 (4663): 711–713. S2CID 39998080.
- S2CID 4345551.
Sources
- Moore, P.D., et al. (1991), Pollen Analysis (Second Edition). Blackwell Scientific Publications. ISBN 0-632-02176-4
- Traverse, A. (1988), Paleopalynology. Unwin Hyman. ISBN 0-04-561001-0
- Roberts, N. (1998), The Holocene an environmental history, Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 0-631-18638-7
External links
- The AASP - The Palynological Society
- International Federation of Palynological Societies
- Palynology Laboratory, French Institute of Pondicherry, India
- The Palynology Unit, Kew Gardens, UK
- PalDat, palynological database hosted by the University of Vienna, Austria
- The Micropalaeontological Society
- Commission Internationale de Microflore du Paléozoique (CIMP), International Commission for Palaeozoic Palynology
- Centre for Palynology, University of Sheffield, UK
- Linnean Society Palynology Specialist Group (LSPSG)
- Canadian Association of Palynologists
- Pollen and Spore Identification Literature
- Palynologische Kring, The Netherlands and Belgium
- Palynofacies, an annotated link directory.
- Acosta et al., 2018. Climate change and peopling of the Neotropics during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana. http://boletinsgm.igeolcu.unam.mx/bsgm/index.php/component/content/article/368-sitio/articulos/cuarta-epoca/7001/1857-7001-1-Acosta